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PATIENT SUPPORT • 02/20/2019

Risks and complications

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ByDr. Ronit Yarden

While minimally invasive surgery is shown to be as safe as open surgery, no surgery is risk-free. Regardless of the type of surgery performed, patients could face possible complications from general anesthesia during or shortly after any surgery, or encounter excessive bleeding with a possible need for a transfusion, damage to nearby organs, or blood clots in the legs or lungs.

The risk of infections at the site of surgery is reduced in minimally invasive surgery compared to open surgery. Pain is a common side effect of any surgery. Minimally invasive surgery is usually associated with decreased pain and with a reduced need for opioids.

One of the major risks associated with colectomy regardless of the type of surgery is the need for ostomy. In the case that the segment of the colon or rectum that contained the tumor was removed and the two healthy ends of the colon or rectum could not be re-attached, your surgeon will have to form a stoma. That means that the colon or rectum will be diverted into an artificial opening in the belly to collect intestinal waste. A stoma can be temporary or permanent.

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